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popularity of the name "People's Center." Torosian did a quick
Google search that turned up hundreds of businesses in the U.S.
that shared the name.
"We kept getting phone calls from people wanting to sign their
timecard, or wondering where their W-4 was…trying to figure
out their tax stuff and they're calling us. So it gave me another
reason to look at a name change."
It was an opportunity to rebuild not just physically, but symboli-
cally. Torosian noted that the Pend d'Oreille tribe, while distinct,
was lumped in with the Salish because they share a language.
She and her staff decided to give the Pend d'Oreille the respect
of recognition.
"We have three tribes. We were historically governed by chiefs.
They were our council. They were our president. They were our
leaders. So one day I came to work and said, 'What do you guys
think about Three Chiefs?' They all looked at me and they went,
'Oh, yeah. Hey, yeah!' So it was a communal decision."
The tribal elders approved the new name at the next tribal coun-
cil, and the Three Chiefs Cultural Center was official. They
found a new home when the tribe bought the Glacier Bank
building in Pablo. The new center opened in 2023 and has been
ramping up to its former level of community activity and cultural
programming ever since. This September they hosted the first
Native American Awareness Week since 2020, which included a
visit from an excited herd of 300 third-graders from Dixon.
The treasured cultural center is back in business and humming
along, but Torosian and her Three Chiefs supporters have big-
ger plans. Grey Johnson has replaced recently retired curation
technician Geri Hewankorn, and Grey works with Torosian and
DON'T FORGET THAT YOU STILL HAVE THOSE STORIES.
YOU STILL HAVE THOSE CULTURES AND TRADITIONS.
MARIE
TOROSIAN
